Sometimes it takes the least typical release of an artist to get one hooked. Being a little skeptical about what little I had heard of the nonetheless very prolific twenty-six year old, I had not listened to a full album of his until I stumbled upon the opening title track of Ty Segall’s latest record Sleeper. Its mellowness and stripped down refinement instantly captured my heart and I had to hear the whole thing, not just once but at least five times in a row on the day I came across it. It was a bit of an epiphany.
Picking up his acoustic guitar has indeed revealed the Californian’s better side and broader range, mingling darkness with a brighter “flower child” sensibility. Sleeper may apparently be minimalist, it is actually excellently crafted. A record that is part of a mourning process following the passing of Segall’s adoptive father, it can be read as an open letter full of troubled feelings. Paradoxically, the songs are very melodic and permeated with some heartmelting Lennon resonance.
Do not get me wrong, this is no rip off, the songwriter’s grief has generated some blissfully disarming, nearly classic little pieces of music, the sort of contemporary tunes that bear an instant prestige.
If you do not get smitten with the ineffable "She Don’t Care" and its scrumptious orchestrated strings, get a cardiologist appointment, your organ might be dysfunctional.
This collection of songs is bound to get you through winter’s long nights, unless you are more partial to the singer’s noisier range.
Sleeper was released on August, 24th 2013.
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